Albion Sports fail to pinch a point after missing two 'sitters'

Albion Sports clawed their way back into the game after Maltby Main had led at half-time, only to throw all their good work away.

It was a clear chance for Kulwinder Sandhu’s men to leapfrog neighbours Thackley and Brighouse Town in the Toolstation Northern Counties East Premier Division but they spurned it.

Lowly Maltby stunned the home crowd when they took a tenth-minute lead through Joel Davies. They doubled their advantage eight minutes before the break when Oliver Fearon netted.

The fightback began just after the hour when Malachi Farquharson rifled in a 25-yard shot and just two minutes later Joel Ettienne headed home a Thomas Dugdale free-kick.

Parity lasted less than five minutes, Michael Cuckson putting the visitors back in front in the 69th minute.

Alex Cusack missed a golden opportunity to equalise soon after and another glaring miss followed when late substitute James Stansfield put the ball wide after good work from Danny Facey.

Instead of climbing above Thackley and Brighouse to claim fourth spot – as only four games in the top tier escaped the weather – the defeat saw Albion tumble to seventh place.

Sandhu was not pleased. He said: “It was another bad day at the office. We gave two poor goals away in the first half and never recovered.

“I don’t know how Alex and Stanny missed those chances, they were sitters. But these things happen when the players are low on confidence. We just need one of those to go in to give us a lift, a spark.

“If we get one result we will be off again but until we get it we are struggling. That is two defeats on the trot and no wins in our last four. We have to turn that around.”